Peta Murphy (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and last Tuesday was Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Metastatic breast cancer is where the disease has spread, or metastasised, to other parts of the body. Breast Cancer Network Australia has two aims for this month. The first is to encourage the community to recognise that the women—and the smaller number of men—who are living with this cancer are undergoing treatment and dealing with its impacts, yes, but they still work, they still have adventures and they still laugh and love and live their lives. The second aim is to promote understanding about what can be done to improve treatment and care for people living with the disease. I planned to talk mainly about the first aim today, but yesterday we heard the disturbing news that because the government has failed to reach agreement with AstraZeneca the PBAC-approved drug Faslodex is still not listed on the PBS, and, unless the minister gets the negotiations back on track, it may never be listed. So now I'm going to talk about the second aim.

Three months can be a very long time in the life of a woman with terminal cancer. That's how long ago PBAC approved Faslodex and that's how long Australian women have been waiting for Faslodex to be listed on the PBS. Where other drugs are no longer holding their terminal breast cancer at bay, Faslodex can be the thing that gives women invaluable extra time with family and friends. If it's not listed, around 500 women who are living with terminal cancer right now face the prospect of paying $1,600 a month for Faslodex, instead of as low as $6.60. Please, Minister, deliver on your promise to list every PBAC-approved drug—no ifs, no buts. Australian women deserve it. (Time expired)